The Golden Bell
by Toasted Marshmallow
Summary: A story full of memories, all because of a little object from Oishi and Eiji's past. Golden Pair fluff.
1. Introduction: The Disaster Area

**Author's Note:**My first PoT fic! This thing's my baby... Please review! I appreciate all comments!

_Notes on the rating:_ The majority of the story is actually rated "G." The rating "PG" is mostly a precaution, because I'm still not sure what direction I'm going to take this story.

Interpret as you see fit.

Enjoy!

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"Nyaaaa! What a mess! I'll never be done before dinner!"

I glanced over to see my despairing redheaded friend tossing various objects left and right.

"Not if you keep throwing things around like that," I responded, as gently as I could without laughing. For the moment, I wasn't sure why I didn't join my friend in the realms of despair. Observing my surroundings, it was impossible not to see what a mess Eiji's room really was. There were several gigantic piles of stuff that Eiji had built up, like mini-mountains that were impossible to climb. The task at hand seemed hopeless at this point, despite the fact that I had offered to help. Even with two people, I wasn't sure how we'd do it. But we had to. Mostly to convince myself, I assured my friend, "Don't worry, Eiji; we'll get it done in time." I heard a little, frustrated moan from Eiji, and I could tell he was pouting. Maybe he had been hoping I would let him give up.

I was kneeling in front of a huge pile of junk that had somehow fallen out of Eiji's closet. Luckily, I knew where everything in his room went, probably better than he did, seeing as how he had ordained me "Chief Organizer" last time he found himself in this mess. I felt a bit of annoyance at the destruction of my system. _Eiji Kikumaru, can't you keep your room clean for just a day? One day! _I felt the maid-like voice in my head say. I couldn't believe what sorts of things Eiji had stuffed in his closet. Scissors, magazines, a mug that had held hot chocolate a long time ago (and was never washed), lost homework, tennis balls, a pillow, and whatever this was…

I started with the things that I knew belonged in the closet. I folded a shirt or two, and held up an old pair of pants so I could fold that, too… when something fell onto my lap with a tiny, golden clang.

That thing… I couldn't believe that Eiji had kept that thing. I never knew he even took it home, this old thing… This little object that deluged me with memories like a tsunami. This little noise that still sounded in my dreams. This little, golden bell on a shiny, black ribbon… I thought I'd never see it again. And yet here it was, in my lap.

I turned to look at Eiji. He was sifting through something by his desk. He had not heard the sound. That made perfect sense, when I thought about it later. In any case, now was not the time to remember. I pocketed the bell, knowing for certain that my friend wouldn't miss it… It wasn't really stealing, but somehow I felt guilty. I hated not telling Eiji things, keeping little secrets. And the bell was sort of… _my_ secret. Eiji didn't really know anything about it, what it meant.

I shifted my focus back to the task at hand. I quickly noticed that Eiji had a nasty habit of throwing things into my pile if he didn't know where he should put them. There were so many things I should have told him to throw away, but he was a packrat, and he would complain. Besides, there wasn't really enough time to be thorough. Towards the end of the ordeal, we sort of resorted to stuffing things in odd places. This made Eiji happy. I, on the other hand, strained myself to rationalize each case of stuffing, only rarely coming out with a satisfactory explanation.

We finished at 5:24. Eiji was ecstatic. "Nya! Oishi! We did it!" He jumped on my back, hanging around my neck, but quickly sliding off because he was too heavy, then falling into a giggling heap on the floor. I couldn't keep from laughing with him. The littlest things could make him so happy.

Then again, this was quite an accomplishment. I had the feeling of one who had conquered a mountain, or killed an angry beast with my bare hands. Relieved and triumphant, I told Eiji I was going to get the vacuum cleaner and left the room. Behind me, I heard him jump onto his bed with a chuckle and a sigh.

By the time I came back with the heavy appliance, Eiji had fallen asleep and was making soft little sleeping sounds. I didn't have the heart to pop his safe, quiet bubble of dreams with the roar of the vacuum, so I just set it near an outlet and walked over to his bedside.

He really was adorable, sleeping like that. Most people are, and I knew that well. There's just something about the face of someone who is having a nice dream… But I couldn't help liking Eiji's the best. From that, I always concluded that he must have very sweet dreams.

I leaned over to get a closer look, and it was so quiet that I heard the bell ring in my pocket, gently reminding me that I had forgotten. I took it out and looked at it. It was a little spotted and dull, probably from being stuck in Eiji's closet for so long. Some of dirt and dust may have been left over from the days we actually used it, just two years before…

Had it been such a short amount of time since then? Had it also been so long? It felt like both. And I smiled when I thought of those sweet summer days when we played and sweated and dreamed and felt silly together. I could almost smell the air, and I felt like I had at that time…

Eiji stirred, as if reminding me to come back. I ruffled my fingers through his hair, still smiling. _Don't worry, Eiji; I'll be back in a moment…_


	2. New Equipment

**Author's Note: **I thought I'd upload chapter one as well... I don't really have much to say. Reviews much appreciated.

Enjoy!

* * *

Eiji and I had known each other for a few months, and had begun to practice together, spending all the time we could playing tennis, or at least spending time getting to know each other. Well… _I _was. I had a hard time sparking interest in my new doubles partner. He always asked why I insisted on doing things the way I did. Rarely could I give him an answer besides what I had read and inferred from the doubles book I studied so hard. But Eiji refused to live by the book.

Captain Yamato had noticed that we were becoming good friends, and soon figured out that we hoped to play doubles together. I don't know if he saw potential in us or just took pity, but one day, while the other club members were running, he called us over and told us he was going to help us out.

"I have a special exercise for you two," he declared. "I think it will help tremendously."

"You'd do that for us, Yamato-senpai?" Eiji's blue eyes sparkled. (1)

"Of course. We're going to get you to Nationals, maybe as soon as next year. But you must work hard to prepare."

I caught my breath, mystified. _Nationals? _There was no way. But… our Captain believed in us… Did he know something I didn't?

Eiji evidently liked this plan. He was bouncing back and forth from foot to foot in his own little eager warm-up. "What are we waiting for? Tell us what to do!"

Captain Yamato smiled softly, patiently, knowingly. It was a smile I'd never forget. And I'll never forget watching him slowly walk to the bench where his tennis bag sat, and ruffle through it, searching for something. He let out a quiet "Ah!" when he found what he was looking for, and pulled it out.

It was a little, golden bell on a shiny, black ribbon.

Eiji and I stared at it as the captain held it up dramatically for us to see. We simultaneously leaned in to get a better look. It was a cheap little object, probably something one would buy at a craft store to create Christmas decorations or something.

"What's this for?" asked Eiji's reflection in the bell, which was glinting gold in the sunlight. I could see that the awestruck sparkle had somewhat diminished in his eyes, showing that he was less than impressed.

"This," the Captain answered, "is your new training equipment."

"Training… equipment?" I heard myself repeat.

"Yes," he promptly replied. "Namely, your training and Kikumaru's equipment."

With an ingenious lack of ceremony and delicacy one often finds when seniors deal with freshmen, Captain Yamato spun Eiji around and tied the bell _around his neck. _My partner blinked twice, dizzy and confused. I was dumbfounded and twice as baffled.

The Captain stood straight again, pleased at his bow-tying skills. "One thing I've learned while playing tennis: one must train their reflexes to respond correctly, especially in doubles. When your partner moves one way, you must move another. And it helps when all of your senses are involved in this training. Sight, touch, and _sound._"

Eiji had begun to fiddle with his new accessory, ringing it once or twice, clearly thinking it ridiculous. "Then how come Oishi doesn't have to wear one?" he whined.

"Because _you're _the net player."

"I am?"

"You're good at it." And with that, the Captain pushed Eiji towards the court. He went reluctantly, muttering something about how everyone would laugh at him. I turned to my superior, awaiting whatever odd instruction he might give.

"Yes, I like that arrangement," he was saying, his eyes following my partner. "That means I'll need to teach you both how to switch positions accordingly at any point in the match. But if Kikumaru is going to play at net, then you, Oishi, must master the baseline." Now he turned to look down at me. "I'll hit some easy volleys to Kikumaru. Pick up anything he misses, but mostly just watch and listen."

I walked onto the court and stood behind the baseline. Yamato-senpai hit the ball to the corner, and it got past Eiji. I forgot to hit it, distracted by the big, black bow hanging at the back of my partner's neck. He turned to glare at me, causing the bell to give a little "ding!"

"Stupid! You're supposed to hit the ball." Clearly, _someone _was cranky. And blushing.

I turned to retrieve the ball, which was bouncing next to the fence. As I hit it back to the captain, he apologized, saying, "Sorry. That first one was just for fun. I didn't expect you to get it back."

Captain Yamato hit a real one this time. Eiji picked it off with ease. Same with the next, and the next, and the one after that… Considering that he was even shorter than I was, Eiji really was good at volleys. He liked to make a big show of it though, diving for balls and jumping up high to pick up overheads when he could have just backed up a little. He quickly got into his game, despite his embarrassment.

I had seen all of this before. But with the bell, it was a new experience. I watched my partner more carefully, too, trying to figure out what movements made the bell ring a certain way. When he moved left, it rang one way… When he moved right, it was mostly the same… When he switched directions, it usually rang twice… When he jumped up, the ring was a little muffled, but rang again when he came down… When he dove, it rang more loudly…

I started moving my feet a little. I knew that when he went one way, I should go the other… I did it by sight at first. Then I tried reacting to the sound. I kept messing up, apparently getting ahead of myself. So I quickly gave that up. But as I kept moving, I focused on the tinkling sound of the little bell. It was so sweet, so light… I don't know if it had anything to do with the training, but looking back… I was falling in love with that sound.

We played like this for more than an hour. Eiji was getting really tired, and the shots the Captain hit him were becoming increasingly more difficult as well. At this point, he had to dive for most of the balls. One time he even tried to hit it by swinging the racket behind his head, but it didn't go in. I found myself having to pick up more of the shots.

When Eiji was finally allowed to take a break, Captain Yamato met me at the net. "Good, Oishi. You've got a good feel for doubles, and knowing where you should move compared to your partner. Now commit to your movements, focusing more on that than listening now."

Eiji returned a moment later with rose-colored cheeks. The upperclassmen must have asked questions and teased him on his way to and from the water fountain. "More?" he moaned.

Captain smiled. "More."

He had told me not to focus on listening, so I didn't. Frankly, I didn't notice anything different from the way we had played games before we met our new friend, the bell, but Yamato-senpai seemed satisfied with our "progress" when we were done. And who was I to question our Captain?

The sun had already set when Eiji and I were dismissed. Back in the locker room, I could tell my partner was dead tired. But not too tired to complain about how exhausted he was.

"Talk about 'cruel and unusual punishment'! Oishi, you'd better have gotten something _good _out of that. It was humiliating _and _I worked myself half to death, not to mention the fact that it made no sense. And I thought _your _training techniques were weird. This takes the cake… I am sooooooo tired…" he moaned, wiping his forehead with a towel.

It was quiet all of a sudden. I didn't really have anything to say, but I knew I ought to say something.

"Well, you did really good out there, Eiji… Thanks, I guess."

I turned to see his response. His back was to me, and he said nothing. He silently slipped his arms into the sleeves of his clean, white school uniform shirt. As he buttoned it, I heard a faint ring.

"Eiji, you're still wearing that bell." I hadn't noticed because his collar was covering the ribbon. I hoped he couldn't detect the smile in my voice.

"Huh? Oh, that." He touched it gently. "I forgot I was wearing it…" His voice was soft and distant. I wondered if he was blushing. Or maybe he had just been thinking about something before I mentioned the bell, and his mind was still somewhere else… And I wondered what he could be thinking about… Eiji inspired many more questions than answers, I mused.

He started to reach back to untie the thing, then changed his mind lazily and plopped down on the bench. "Oishi, will you get it for me?"

I obediently sat beside him, and he turned so I could comfortably reach the bow. I had to fumble with it for a few minutes. Captain Yamato had tied it very tightly, and it felt like my fingers weren't working. Because of this, my right hand slipped off the ribbon and brushed across the back of Eiji's neck.

"Ah! That tickles!" My friend promptly slapped his hands over the area to protect it.

"I barely touched you!" I protested, shocked at the irritation in my voice. Maybe I was a little tired, too…

Eiji's grip around the back of his neck loosened. "I'm… ticklish around my neck..."

I felt my face get warm, suddenly realizing that some of the irritation was also embarrassment. "Sorry…" I continued untying the slippery ribbon, more carefully this time. When I was done, he pulled it off and stuffed it in his tennis bag, clearly hoping not to see it again for a while.

We had planned to go to my house after school, as we pretty much always did on the weekends, either to my house or his. On the way there, Eiji walked slowly, dragging his feet, and soon begged me to stop and let him rest a minute. We found an open bench and sat on it. To my great dismay and surprise, Eiji tipped over like a falling tower and let his head land straight in my lap. He was probably asleep before he even hit.

To say the least, this was an awkward position. During the first few minutes, I came close to waking him up more than once, but was too shy to actually do it. So I decided I'd let him sleep for a little.

I think this was the first time I noticed the soft smile he wore whenever he had a sweet dream. In fact, I'd never really carefully watched him sleep before. Every time we'd had a sleepover, as soon as we said goodnight, we pretty much just ignored each other until morning. I couldn't help realizing that Eiji really was… someone _different _when he slept. And yet his expression was so like him.

I looked at my watch. It told me that almost twenty minutes had passed. Where had all of that time gone? I looked back down at my friend and listened to his peaceful breathing. Time could wait. I remember putting my hand gently on his shoulder and leaning in slowly to get a closer look at his face, studying him like I did my doubles book, trying to figure him out. He had very long eyelashes. They just sort of… brushed against his cheeks, like the fringe on a curtain brushes against the floor, covering a window of sapphire glass...

My cell phone rang. I jumped a little, realizing I had no clue what I was doing. Fumbling, I pulled it out and answered it as quickly as I could.

"Shuichiro?" It was my mom.

"Um… yes?"

"Where are you? It's late."

I had forgotten it was dark; our bench was underneath a bright streetlamp, and I had found my own little world beneath its glow… I glanced down at Eiji, hoping my activity had not driven him into groggy consciousness. He was stirring. _Shoot._

"Uh, Eiji and I are on our way there, Mom. Practice went pretty late…"

"Okay. Just come right home."

"Okay, Mom."

"Love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom. Bye." I hung up.

Eiji rubbed his eyes, still using my lap as his pillow. "What time is it?"

I helped him sit up, unable to keep from smiling at his sleepiness. "Time to go home."

* * *

_Footnote:_

(1) "senpai"- a Japanese honorific term used to address one's superior.


	3. Awkward Moments

**Author's Note: **I have more! It's still from Oishi's POV (I forgot to mention that in the first chapter, oops). Reviews much appreciated.

* * *

As soon as we were safe in my room, Eiji jumped into my bed. I knew it wouldn't take him long to fall asleep. Once he was tired, he was _tired. _I could have tried giving him sugar, but then he might have been up all night. Better just to let him sleep. I didn't bother telling him to change out of his uniform, either. I could beg my mom to iron it in the morning.

When I was in my pajamas and all ready to go to bed, I noticed a new problem. Eiji was _in_ my bed. This problem had never presented itself before. At the time, I had no idea that it wouldn't be the last time this would happen.

I considered my options. I could retrieve Eiji's sleeping bag and attempt to sleep on the floor myself, or I could sleep comfortably… in my own bed… with Eiji…

Neither option seemed like a great solution. But I pulled out my friend's sleeping bag and laid it out next to my occupied bed.

One never realizes how sore they really are until they try to sleep on the floor. I tossed and turned for an hour, trying to get comfortable. I wasn't worried about not getting enough sleep; it was the weekend, and it wasn't that late yet anyway. But I certainly didn't want to wake up in the morning aching all over.

I peered over the side of my bed. Eiji was tossing and turning as well. Then again, he always did that. He just couldn't keep still… I pondered the situation, very tempted to crawl in next to my friend. Was it worth a shot?

I don't know how I ended up rationalizing that it was, but I climbed into the bed beside my doubles partner. My timing was lucky; Eiji was currently on the opposite edge of the bed. I rolled over so my back was facing him and got comfortable. _Much better._

Now, Eiji always sleeps hugging something, be it a pillow, a stuffed animal, or just his covers. He had a body pillow at home that he was particularly fond of. This fact had slipped my mind, but I was quickly reminded of it when I felt Eiji's arms lock around my waist. Great. I had become the substitute body pillow.

Despite these odd circumstances, I was so tired that I fell asleep quickly. Something about it was actually very comfortable. Eiji was so warm…

I woke up to the sound of my bedroom door opening, and a giggle. I opened my eyes. My little sister walked over to my bedside.

"Big brother! Mommy made pancakes," she whispered, like she was telling a juicy secret.

I started to try to sit up, but I realized Eiji was still clinging to me. "We'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." She ran off with a giddy smile, carefully shutting the door behind her.

Now to wake him up. I sort of elbowed him in the stomach. At this point, gentleness wasn't my main objective. I wanted breakfast. But instead of waking up like I had hoped, Eiji simply let go of me and rolled the other way. I shook him, this time calling his name. "Eiji!"

"Mm?"

"Wake up."

"Mm." Clearly that wasn't his current plan.

I shook him again. "My mom made breakfast."

"Eh? What?"

"Pancakes, Eiji."

No answer.

I sighed. "With powdered sugar, if you want…"

Eiji was out the door and racing down the stairs before I could finish my sales pitch. I took my time in following him. Apparently, he had no idea that he'd been attached to me throughout the entirety of the night.

When I came into the kitchen, Eiji was already sitting at the table working on two pancakes: one holding a sugary snowdrift in place, and the other piled high with syrupy strawberries. Being more of a traditionalist, I prepared myself a small stack of three pancakes with butter and maple syrup.

Eiji wasn't always a morning person, but today was one of his good days. He must have slept well. He really was the life of the little party he had made of breakfast, chatting casually with my mom and making my sister giggle with his antics while he eagerly finished his breakfast. When he had done so, he got up to put his plate in the sink. I heard a little "ding!"

I perked up and looked around. "What was that?"

Everyone froze like statues and stared at me. "What was what, honey?" my mother asked gently.

"That sound… didn't you hear it?" My eyes scanned them all for affirmation, almost pleading. "It sounded… like… a bell…" I turned to look at Eiji. He felt around his collar to make sure his new "equipment" hadn't magically found its way back to his neck. It hadn't.

My face felt warm. I heard my sister snicker as I looked back down at my plate. "Shuichiro's hearing things…" I looked up a little to see Mom give her a look that said, "Now, sweetie, that's not very nice…"

After a sip of coffee, Mom turned to me. "Your friend called this morning."

I picked up my glass of orange juice and started to drink. "Which?"

"Tezuka."

I don't know why that surprised me so much, but I almost choked on my juice. Eiji patted my back, trying to help me as I broke into a coughing fit. Tezuka never called anyone…

"Really?" I sputtered out, still coughing a little. "What about?"

"He was wondering if you wanted to play tennis with him today. He called rather early… I told him you wouldn't be up until later. He wanted you to call him when you were ready, if you wanted to go."

Eiji slapped his hands on the table. "Of course we do!"

I found myself wondering where he got the idea that he could answer for me. But I didn't protest. I did want to go.

Mom started cleaning up the table. "Well, I hope you boys have fun. Shuichiro, you should call him, then."

"Okay, Mom." I got up to go to the phone. Eiji was clearly a little confused as to what his job was. So I helped him out. "Eiji… you might want to change out of your school uniform…"

He blinked, and then looked down at his shirt. He obviously hadn't even thought of that. Lucky for me, he thought it was hysterical. He started laughing. It was a long, cheery laugh that rang out sweetly and lightly disappeared. Sort of like a bell…


	4. Tezuka

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I've still got more... I should've probably uploaded all the chapters I had all at once, but I didn't. So you get to keep reading. This is still Oishi's PoV.

I really liked doing this chapter. Tezuka is unbelievably fun to write for.

Enjoy!

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My conversation with Tezuka was interesting. It was everything I should have imagined a phone conversation with him would be… 

"Tezuka?"

"Yes."

"This is Oishi."

"Yes."

"I guess… you wanted to play tennis?"

"Yes."

"So, uh… where should… I mean—"

"We can play at the school courts."

"Oh! Okay. Um, Eiji's at my house right now. Can he—"

"Bring him."

"Okay. So—"

"I'll see you in twenty minutes." Then he hung up.

I sort of just looked at the phone for a moment before hanging up. _That was… special._

Soon my doubles partner bounded down the stairs, looking very ready to play. He bounced up and down. "Ready?"

"Hang on, I have to get changed," I responded, heading upstairs.

"Hurry up!" he called, grinning.

I tried to change as quickly as I possibly could. I'm not sure why I was so excited… But I couldn't really argue with playing tennis with Eiji and Tezuka. I mean, come on. It was _tennis. _And it was my two best friends in the whole world. It didn't get much better.

With all of this in mind, I couldn't help enjoying the walk to the school. Casual conversation ensued. Eiji was so easy to be around when he was happy. And today, he was downright pleasant. Sometimes he would sort of skip ahead, walking backwards so he could still talk to me. I took this chance to really look at him, noticing things like the way the sun shined off of his red hair... I don't actually remember saying much. But my eager comrade filled the time with his cheerful chatter. He liked hearing himself talk. I liked hearing him talk, too.

We passed the bench we had occupied the night before, when Eiji had needed to rest. I heard his voice now, farther away than it should have been. "Hey! Why'd you stop?"

I looked up at him. I hadn't realized that I'd stopped walking. Eiji had a look of puzzled annoyance on his face, and was resting his hands on his hips, waiting for an answer. I looked into his eyes, remembering what I'd compared them to while sitting on that bench… _Sapphire glass? Man, I was tired…_ But still…

"Um… Nothing. Sorry." I quickly caught up to him, and we walked side by side. Silently.

I didn't look at him. I don't know if he was looking at me or not. The silence was uneasy. Keeping my eyes on the ground made it a little easier, for me at least. I wasn't so uncomfortable that I was unhappy. There was something I enjoyed in Eiji's presence alone, something I didn't think he'd ever understand. And because he didn't understand, he was getting frustrated. Finally, when he couldn't stand the silence any longer, he shouted, "Race ya!" Then he took off running.

It was all I could do to keep up. There was something in his dash that was almost frightened. I suppose it might have just been that pent-up frustration.

When we got to the courts, I yelled out to Tezuka before collapsing seconds later at his feet beside my doubles partner. I laughed from the fun of the chase. Tezuka just sort of looked at us strangely.

It took us a few minutes to catch our breath. In the meantime, Tezuka explained what we'd be doing.

"We'll play two-on-one. Alleys are in on both sides. Best two-out-of-three sets. Six games each. You serve first."

Once that was settled, I grabbed some balls and went to the court, where Eiji and Tezuka were already waiting. I tossed up the ball and was interrupted by Tezuka's voice.

"Kikumaru. Aren't you forgetting something?"

I froze, letting the ball drop. Eiji cocked his head. "Eh?"

"The new training device Captain Yamato-senpai gave you. Don't you remember?"

"But this is… this is practice!" Eiji protested.

"Practice is training." Tezuka wasn't backing down. He never did.

Now Eiji stamped his foot. "But this is just for fun!"

Tezuka crossed his arms. "Your partner needs this training." Ouch. "Don't you want him to be able to back you up?"

Eiji now turned to me. "You don't need it, right? It wouldn't help you any…"

I could feel Tezuka's gaze burning into my face. Eiji couldn't win this argument anyway. Knowing this, and fearing Tezuka's wrath more than Eiji's, I responded, "Well, Eiji, you never know. Yamato-senpai seemed to think—"

Eiji dropped his racket and threw up his hands. "Now _you're _against me!" Ruffling through his tennis bag, he added, "You're all crazy!"

"Here, let me get that." I feebly attempted to make up for it by offering to tie the bell around his neck for him. At least he stopped complaining. I could feel a strong sense of triumph silently radiating from Tezuka's side of the court.

We began our game without any further fuss. Tezuka gave himself further disadvantage by playing with his right hand, which was a little insulting. But at least we won some points off him.

Eiji had become very good at ignoring the bell, it seemed. He was genuinely having fun. I tried to let him have the net as much as possible, but a few of our position switches were a little messy, and the ball easily got passed us. There were a couple of times, though, when everything just seemed to work. I really started to enjoy covering my partner.

I also loved watching the impressive dives and jumps he attempted while trying to hit every ball. Maybe he was a showoff. I didn't care. My favorite one was a time when he misjudged the ball, going one way and realizing the ball had been hit another. He did a backwards dive for the ball, with his back parallel to the ground. Tezuka's shot had been nice and hard, so all Eiji had to do was block it, which he did. Of course, Tezuka simply returned this shot to the spot Eiji had left open, and I just didn't have enough time to get there.

Eiji twisted his body and landed in a crouching position. I laughed, unable to resist the comparison: "Eiji, you landed on your feet like a cat!"

He grinned at me. "I got skills."

"Y'know, with that bell, it's almost scary how cat-like you look right now," I teased, knowing I was in no danger of being snapped at. Eiji was too proud of his last shot to be annoyed.

He stood up. "Cat-like, huh? Nya." He flashed a victory sign and joined me in chuckling.

Again, Tezuka was looking at us strangely.

There was one point I'll never forget. It was my serve, and Eiji decided to poach. Of course, he never told me this. Tezuka hit a shot down the line, to my side of the court, and started running toward the net. I got ready to hit it back. "Ding!" I heard Eiji's bell ring. Instinctively, I went the other way, which was against everything I would have done before. And I didn't even have to look at my partner.

Eiji volleyed it back, aiming straight at Tezuka. Tezuka returned it hard by twisting his arm to block it in front of his face. Now I was right in position to hit it back, which I did- right down the alley. Tezuka didn't quite make it, and we won the point. I barely knew what had happened. If I hadn't moved before, that shot would have been way too fast for me to reach in time. It was just so… perfect.

Eiji and I did a high-five, grabbing onto each other's hands.

"Nice poach."

"Nice cover."

Tezuka was stunned. Well, maybe not _stunned_… just kind of impressed. After a moment's silence, he nodded in approval. "Nice teamwork."

We played some long, hard tennis. Looking back, it was one of my favorite matches, despite our defeat. Yeah. Tezuka whooped us.

Afterwards, Eiji ran to get a drink and Tezuka sat next to me on the bench, looking pretty tired. "You made me run."

I laughed. "Well, that's what happens when you have to cover the alleys by yourself."

Out of the blue, he remarked, "Your best friend is a very interesting character. Very good at the net, though."

There was a pause. I couldn't move or speak. Tezuka rubbed his face with a towel and walked away, following Eiji to the water fountain.

Best… friend?

Until now, I'd always thought of Tezuka as my best friend. This completely caught me off guard. I was positive Tezuka didn't think any differently of me than he always had… The change he implied was on _my_ side.

And he was right.

For a moment, I worried. Was Tezuka upset? Was he jealous? What had I done to him, without realizing it?

Then I caught myself. No… there was no hint of hurt in Tezuka's voice. And suddenly it hit me.

He was trying to tell me that it was okay.

So I took it as a go-ahead. In a way, Tezuka said goodbye to me in this match. It was certainly a turning-point in my relationship with Eiji. I began spending almost every waking moment with my doubles partner. I had no time to spend alone with anyone else.

Looking back, I wonder if Tezuka was lonely. I wonder if he ever got jealous, or missed the times we walked home from school together. I wonder if he ever got tired of Eiji, wishing he would disappear, leaving just me and Tezuka, so we could talk privately. I wonder if there was anything he wanted to say that he never got the chance to say, just because Eiji was there. But looking back, I have no regrets. I just wonder.


	5. Growing Pains

**Author's Note: **I'm a maniac! This is definitely my fluffiest chapter so far... We've kind of strayed from the whole bell thing O.o... Don't worry; it comes back.

Enjoy!

* * *

The bell disappeared with the beginning of eighth grade, along with Captain Yamato, which made sense. I didn't forget about it though. I just thought it was gone. I would still hear it faintly in my head sometimes when Eiji moved, especially while playing tennis. I got used to it. Every so often, I would hear it without seeing my partner, like if he tried to sneak up behind me on the way home from school. Then I would turn around and scare him more than he had been planning to scare me, just by saying hi.

Eighth grade was an interesting year. Eiji and I were regulars now, if only for our doubles playing. Under Captain Yamato's training, we had mastered a very solid doubles strategy. The technique of it was nearly flawless, but sometimes… we were a little off.

Eiji would get frustrated whenever we messed up like that. Well… _sometimes _he'd be frustrated. Other times he would be okay and try to reassure me that I hadn't let him down. Still other times he would give me a hurt look that said exactly the opposite. What scared me the most was when he didn't say anything, or even turn around.

I took it upon myself to fix these holes in our game. It was my job. I was supposed to support him so he was free to play his net game unhindered. I had to match his rhythm, which was another place where I soon discovered the bell had helped. But that device could do no more for me. I got a little creative.

One day, Eiji had invited me over to help him study for an algebra test. Of course, it ended up that I was doing most of the work. He decided he'd play video games upside down while lying on his bed. I told him he could continue if he promised to study with me when he lost all of his lives. He agreed.

Eiji was very good at video games when he wanted to be.

I had been waiting for over fifteen minutes when my mind wandered back to tennis, as it often did. I strained myself to figure out a way to fix our synchronization. No idea came.

I idly watched the screen, not really seeing what was on it, but knowing Eiji wasn't even nearly finished. We already knew each other so well. Everyone made mistakes like we did, right? But it was impossible for me not to desire perfection. To do that, though, I'd have to know my partner absolutely to perfection, inside and out.

What had helped before? The bell had helped. I tried to figure out why. It had triggered my reflexes with sound. And it helped me find Eiji's rhythm. There were certain beats that it always rang on…

Suddenly an idea came. I looked at my friend, who was still lying on his back with his head hanging over the edge of the bed. I didn't even know if my idea would work, but why not try?

"Eiji, can you hold still a moment?"

"Sure, whatever," he said flatly, not really listening.

I gently laid my ear to his chest, listening for his heartbeat. _Thump-thump… thump-thump…_

"What the heck are you doing? Oishi! You made me lose a life." I could hear his heartbeat speed up slightly as he angrily clicked on the controls.

"Shh… I'm listening." I was determined to memorize this.

The only response he could come up with was, "You're weird."

I spent a good half-hour listening like that. If his heartbeat and his breathing weren't the rhythms I needed to learn, nothing was. And nothing would help us anymore. This seemed rather meticulous, but I figured that if we wanted to improve, we had to be picky.

From then on, I listened to his heartbeat whenever I got the chance. He rarely let me do it, even when we were alone in one of our rooms. He still thought it was a little more than weird. But whenever we had a sleepover, I would wait until he fell asleep and then lay my head on his chest again, listening. _Thump-thump. Thump-thump. _It would lull me into a peaceful sleep.

Our game improved. It seemed I always knew exactly what my partner was going to do, like second nature. There were still hiccups, though. Eiji would sometimes skip a beat, unsure of himself. We had moved on to the next problem. Eiji didn't trust me completely.

I kept assuring him that I had him covered. He knew that, and he was sure to let me know that he knew, sometimes getting very upset with me for supposedly implying that he was stupid. The problem was so slight that I became convinced that it must have stemmed from somewhere other than the tennis court. Once again, I was determined to fix it.

It was through these attempts that I learned one thing: Eiji was a free spirit. I could tell he didn't really want to depend on me. This was amplified by the fact that he was really moody that year. The whole growing process came to him in an ugly package: growing pains, changing voice, and violent mood swings.

Everything in me wanted to help him. Everything in him wanted to push me away. But he didn't. I don't know why this was. Either he needed a good friend to get through this stage in his life, or he was slowly letting himself need me. I didn't see this at the time. There were many times I was ready to give up; many times when I was sure he hated me.

That Christmas, my family planned a vacation to visit some relatives a little farther north. When I told Eiji, he just shrugged and said, "Sounds fun. At least you won't be bored over the holiday."

I looked over at him. He was leaning over a railing, looking out towards the ocean, and eating strawberry ice cream. It had been bright and sunny that winter day, so it was a little warmer than it had been for almost a month. The sun was low in the sky, making the water and nearby snowdrifts and everything seem to sparkle. I couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't want to leave over break. I wanted to stay and spend Christmas with Eiji. I had come to hate the thought of being away for a week. But he seemed fine. In some strange way, I was jealous.

I spent that night at his house. We watched movies, played video games, and talked about nothing in particular. His smile and laughter made me forget about the trip. I convinced myself that we'd both be fine, and fell asleep listening to his heartbeat again.

I stayed at his house the next day. We played video games after lunch, and I was beating Eiji, something that almost never happened. He kept interjecting things like, "You suck!" and "That was so cheap!" and "Jerk!" His voice was rising in pitch with every insult. At first I didn't think he was really so frustrated, and I sort of laughed it off inwardly. Then I realized he was really upset.

"Eiji, we don't have to play if—"

"No," he interrupted. And the game went on.

I was at a loss. He had never done this before… Whenever he lost to me at anything, like cards or board games, he would say he hadn't been trying, or shrug it off in some other way with a smile or a giggle. Maybe he was just being moody today.

The game was over and I had beaten my doubles partner pretty badly. He threw his controller. "You're so stupid!"

"Eiji, that was luck. You always win at that game," I stuttered.

"Shut up! Why are you always so… so…" He couldn't find the word, and his temper exploded. "I HATE you! Go away!" he screamed.

"Eiji—"

"GET OUT!" I dodged whatever he threw at me, but I was out the door with my things before I could figure out what it had been.

Eiji's mom met me in the entryway just as I was heading out the door. "Oh, Oishi. You're leaving?"

"Yeah. Thanks for everything, Mrs. Kikumaru!" I called as I ran out onto the sidewalk and took off for home.

I stopped running after a few blocks. I considered going back. If Eiji was left to fume by himself, he might hate me forever… What had happened? Was it something I said? Or was it really just the stupid game? I didn't think Eiji would get so upset over something so little…

I figured that _I_ must have been the problem. He had tried to tell me how I frustrated him, but couldn't get the words out… What was it that he wanted to say?

I couldn't figure out anything, the whole way home. But on the doorstep of my house, I concluded something. I had to fix this. I couldn't leave him over my holiday.

My parents were very obliging. I would say they understood, but they admitted themselves that they had no clue why I felt I had to stay. My mother said the trip meant a lot to her, but I insisted that I couldn't go. She sighed. I felt guilty. But I stood by my decision, and she said I could stay as long as I found a friend I could stay with. Of course, my first thought was Eiji, but he was still mad at me… I figured I'd ask him anyway. It would be a good opportunity to tell him that I wanted to make things right.

I talked to him the next day after school, on our way home. He wasn't exactly happy to see me. My friend was good at holding grudges.

After a terrible pause, I blurted, "I'm not leaving for vacation, Eiji. I'm staying here."

He stopped, ahead of me. I braced myself, thinking he was angry. I even closed my eyes, expecting him to yell again.

Nothing.

I looked back up at him. He was just staring at me. He wasn't angry. He looked like he was about to cry.

I felt concern kick in. "Eiji, what's the matter?"

He didn't move. "You're… not leaving?"

For the first time in a while, I couldn't read him. I was about to tell him I would go if he wanted me to, when he collapsed into my arms.

"You'll stay at my house, right?"

I was shocked. Everything became suddenly clear again. I smiled, almost laughing from relief. "Of course I will."

Eiji had been so afraid that I would leave, and he never wanted me to. I brushed the newly falling snow off his red hair as he snuggled slightly into my jacket. That's why he'd been so frustrated. And he'd been trying so hard to hide it. Now I understood. I understood everything. And I finally saw that Eiji needed me, and he trusted me, and I understood him.

From then on, things were never the same.

Christmas at the Kikumaru household was the most fun I'd had in years. There were so many people, so many presents… It was always warm in that living room, by the tree. On the evening of the twenty-fifth, after the festivities were over and everyone was asleep and I knew I'd be back at home by the afternoon of the next day, I went down the stairs and turned on the Christmas tree lights. Then I just sat on the floor in front of it, leaning against the couch. I closed my eyes.

After a few minutes, I felt someone sit next to me. I didn't have to open my eyes to know who it was. "Merry Christmas, Eiji."

"Thanks for the video game." He scooted closer to me.

"You're welcome. Thanks for the CD."

"No problem." He sighed happily. "Merry Christmas, Oishi."

We watched the blinking lights on the tree, silently telling each other how happy we were just being there. We looked over at each other at the same time and smiled. The colors were dancing in Eiji's eyes like magic.

"Oishi, this was the best Christmas ever."


	6. Back to Reality

**Author's Note: **Gee, I feel kinda bad for updating so much, 'cuz it keeps me at the top of the page... it feels unfair... But thanks for the reviews! Makes me happy. I appreciate all of them.

Anyways, Oishi's PoV still.

Enjoy!

* * *

Back in Eiji's newly cleaned room, sitting on his bed, I realized my reverie no longer had anything to do with the little golden bell in my hand. I looked at the object again, holding it up by the ribbon so I could see my reflection. No… these memories had everything to do with this object in my hand. They were all precious to me, just as the bell was precious to me. Just as Eiji was precious to me.

And that was all it really meant to me. That was my little secret. Of course, that wasn't really a secret. Everyone knew. Everyone could tell that Eiji was very dear to me. Eiji himself knew that most of all.

But did he really know _how much?_

If he knew everything, if he knew exactly how I felt about him, it might even scare him. There was a part of him that hated being this close to anyone. It made him vulnerable. He hated that. I still wonder why he's just let me get closer and closer…

And I wonder when he'll finally run away.

I haven't always wondered this. For a long time after that one, beautiful Christmas, I thought everything was perfect, and nothing could stand in the way of our blossoming friendship. Then I realized that Eiji had no idea what he was getting into, or even that I had figured him out so well.

I had been involved in student council throughout my junior high career, and one day late in my eighth grade year, I had an after-school meeting. This meant I couldn't walk home with Eiji, but that had happened before, and it was okay. It wasn't uncommon.

Eiji had a hard time remembering whenever I had a meeting. But usually he would figure it out and walk home by himself. But this day, I found him waiting outside my classroom door when school got out, something he didn't do very often. Usually this meant that he was excited about something, or he was upset and wanted to talk to me. Instinctively, I could tell it was the latter just by glancing at him. He smiled cheerfully, however, when I walked out the door. He never let himself seem upset until we had walked well out of range of other students' eyes.

"You almost ready?" He leaned over a little so he was looking up at me, with those huge, blue eyes…

I sighed, full of regret. "Eiji, I have a student council meeting today."

He stood back up, taking his eyes off of me and trying not to look disappointed. He wasn't bad at it.

"I'm sorry," I added, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"No, don't worry." He backed away and smiled again, a smile that would have fooled anyone else. "I'll catch you later!" He waved quickly and walked away.

When he turned the corner, I ran the other direction, towards the classroom the council was meeting in. I burst in the door, said I couldn't stay, gave my apologies, and ran back to catch Eiji.

I met him a little ways down the street. I had to stop to catch my breath, and he just looked down at me, blinking.

"Oishi, what?"

"You wanted to talk to me, right?" I looked back up at him. He started a little, still not sure what the deal was. I decided to continue. "You wanted to walk home with me today so we could talk, right? Did something bad happen today in class? What's up?"

He was startled. He didn't know what to say. "How… how did…"

I placed my hand on his shoulder. This time he was too shocked to back away. "I can tell."

He met my gaze, but he couldn't hold it for long. Soon he pulled away, blushing. "But it was… it was silly!" he choked out. "It was just… just a hard day. I had two tests and I lost my homework and I tripped in the hallway and so some of the girls started laughing at me… and…. and… How did you _know?"_

I held out my arms. "Eiji…"

He shook his head. "Thanks, Oishi; I'm okay… I'm just… Well, I was trying... But…" His voice was full of tears. Not wanting me to see him cry, he just turned away. And he ran.

I didn't try to catch him. If he wanted to run, I knew I should let him run. But I wished he wouldn't. If he really had been a cat, I would have made him wear that little bell, so I'd never lose him; and if he ran, I could always follow him and hear the bell and know he wasn't far.

But he wasn't a cat. He was a person.

And he wasn't mine.

At that time, I felt sad, and I went home feeling a little sick, letting my depressing thought train get the better of me.

I looked back down at Eiji now. He was still sleeping.

Now I just felt grateful.

I hadn't done anything to deserve such a close relationship with my elusive doubles partner. I guess I was just lucky. Then again, probably no one really deserves wonderful friends, and I guess everyone's lucky in that way… But I couldn't help feeling _especially _lucky.

I smiled and leaned over, examining my best friend's features. Some things hadn't changed much since I met him; other things had changed a lot. The thing I noticed the most was how relaxed he looked, and how his features had changed from adorably awkward to rather graceful…

My eyes fell on the white bandage that stretched across part of his right cheek, and once again I plunged into the ocean of memory.

By the beginning of ninth grade, Eiji had rid himself of the bandage he'd worn across his nose for a year and a half. I don't know why he'd kept it on so long… It was probably because he wanted to make sure every trace of the injury had disappeared. Maybe he was just a little vain in that way…

In any case, I was just getting used to it. I still expected him to be wearing that white strip across his nose, but every time I looked over at him, it wasn't there. I kind of appreciated the change.

Things were really looking up at the beginning of that year. Eiji and I remained tennis team regulars (as well as Tezuka, our new captain), and I had been elected vice-captain. One day in practice, Eiji and I were crushing some other doubles team, and Eiji dove for a low shot. To keep himself suspended and make it easier to get up afterwards, he placed his wrist on the ground. Unfortunately, he landed on it wrong, and it gave out beneath him, causing him to skid a little across the court on his face. Namely, his right cheek.

I immediately ran to him. He sat up, a little dazed but pretty much fine. I checked his wrist, twisting it a little. No damage. I asked him if it hurt. He said it did a little, but assured me that it would be fine, saying that the shock of the quick pain was what caused it to give out. That seemed to be the case, from what I could examine. But I wasn't sure I believed him, because he was biting his lip. I then took a look at his face.

It was just a scrape, but there was one cut that had managed to open up considerably and was bleeding pretty badly. He must have hit a piece of gravel or something. As vice captain, I was in charge of the first aid kit, which I'd left in the locker room. So I led Eiji along with me to get it so I could clean his cuts in there.

Eiji sat on the bench and I shut the door behind me. I started to clean off some of the blood, when I saw a drop of water roll down his cheek into the cut, undoubtedly causing it to sting. He was crying.

"Eiji, what's the matter?"

He slapped his hands over his face. "I looked like an idiot out there!"

"Hey…" I gently pulled his hands back down and continued cleaning his face, now wiping off his tears as well as blood. "You really didn't, Eiji. And it's okay to feel like that once in a while."

He sighed and wiped his own eyes. "I know… it's just… it was hard not to cry."

I nodded, remembering how he'd been biting his lip. Then I prepared a cotton ball with alcohol. "This might sting a bit…" He flinched a little but didn't complain. Then I tried a treatment that was a bit unorthodox: I kissed him on the cheek where he had been cut.

To most people, that would seem very weird. But it was me and Eiji. We were so close that it wasn't really weird. At least, _I _didn't think it was. But I couldn't really say. I'd never done it before.

Eiji blushed pink, but he was grinning at the same time. I placed a new, white bandage on his cheek where the cut had been the worst, gave his shoulder a little pat to tell him I was done, and he thanked me. Then we went back to the court.

Right now, sitting so close to Eiji, staring at his face and thinking of all this, I couldn't help kissing his cheek again. But I didn't expect him to wake up because of it. I had to hastily stuff the bell in my pocket again before he could see it.

"Oishi?" he asked, not really asking. He stretched and smiled at me sleepily.

"Silly. You fell asleep," I said, staring into his half-open eyes.

"What time is it?" This was his usual waking-up question.

"Boys! Time for dinner!" his mother yelled, unknowingly answering her son's inquiry.

"Coming!" I replied, and, after I helped him out of bed, Eiji and I went downstairs.


	7. Thinking of You

**Author's Notes: **Okay, it's time I fess up... I've been cheating. I've already had all of this stuff written, and that's the only reason I could update so fast. I meant to mention that... really... Anyways, this may be the last update for this week. I'm working on more chapters, but my editor is out of town and I'd like her to go through my next few chapters before I post them. Ooo, that sounds so professional... Actually, my "editor" is my lovely sister who's a better writer than I am and is very gracious to help me with my stuff and I love her very much. This whole fic is dedicated to her. So I now proclaim.

_**Notes on the Rating**...  
_IMPORTANT! This fic is rated PG. However, this chapter talks about a PG-13 movie. The scene that gives this film that particular rating is briefly mentioned and _very_ vaguely described in this chapter. It should be no problem, but I didn't want anyone yelling at me for dealing with the concept of you-know-what... If it bothers you, feel absolutely free to skip this chapter. I don't plan on having the concept come up again.

We've finally changed PoV's! (I'll tell you whenever that happens:)

* * *

Eiji's Point of View

* * *

Oishi was acting weird.

Dinner was nice but rowdy as usual. I was kind of groggy from my nap at first, but I shook it off quickly. We were having spaghetti. There's nothing much more fun than making a show of slurping up one's spaghetti. Mom had long since stopped trying to convince her kids that it was impolite. She soon got frustrated, though, and got up to prepare dessert. My siblings and I broke into giggles as soon as she left the dining room. Then we continued to slurp spaghetti.

I looked over at Oishi again. He was twirling his spaghetti around his fork, obviously doing more thinking than eating (or slurping, for that matter). I hoped nothing was wrong. "Nya." I poked him playfully. He looked up at me and smiled. It was a genuine smile. So he wasn't unhappy.

I pushed my plate away from myself, stretching my arms at the same time. The suspense mounted as we all waited for dessert. We didn't have to wait long. Mom promptly returned with bowls of vanilla ice cream and all the materials needed for a decent sundae. My siblings and I immediately set to work.

As I was piling my sundae high with marshmallows, Mom asked me cautiously, "Eiji, did you finish cleaning your room?"

I sighed a little. "Yes, Mom."

"Good boy." My brothers and sisters giggled at that. I ignored them. Mom pointed her spoon in the direction of my doubles partner, who was patiently waiting his turn to decorate his frozen vanilla goodness. She remarked, "I assume you have Oishi-kun to thank for that."

To both my relief and profound embarrassment, Oishi answered, "No, Mrs. Kikumaru. It was no trouble at all." His expression changed slightly and he looked down at his plate. "It was my pleasure."

That was weird. I mentally shrugged it off.

Really, I loved Oishi, but he could make me look so bad sometimes. Talking so politely, having perfect table manners, smiling, saying work was his _pleasure_, waiting his turn for the ice cream toppings(which was just unheard of at my house)… I looked back at him out of the corner of my eye. He was explaining to my mom that he still hadn't vacuumed in my room, apologizing profusely, and promising to help me finish up after dinner.

Why _hadn't_ he vacuumed? Oh, right. I'd been sleeping. What had he been doing all that time? I guess it didn't matter. I popped my loaded spoon into my mouth. When the sweet, chilly lump had slid down my throat, I licked my spoon thoughtfully and let my mind wander.

My nap had not lasted very long, but it had been nice. Let's see… Had I dreamt at all? I tried to remember. It was hard. I had the distinct feeling that I'd dreamt something…

That's right. I remembered clouds. I was lying on the grass, watching the clouds go by. Oishi had been there, of course, next to me. He was pretty much always in my dreams. Except some of my nightmares. I didn't even remember looking at him in this particular dream, but I knew he was there. Maybe I'd heard his voice. The dream was foggy in my memory now. I gulped another spoonful of ice cream, letting all the noise in the room escape my senses.

I looked over at Oishi again, who was just now starting to prepare his ice cream to make it suitable for eating. I just stared at him for a bit, eating my ice cream and unconsciously studying his face. He had a nice profile. I peeked at my mom, who, I suddenly realized, was also looking at my best friend, smiling. It was kind of sick. It was like she had a crush on him or something. I shuddered. No… She just wished her boys were such wonderful little gentlemen. I'd heard her say so, many times, almost every time Oishi left the house after a visit.

My focus shifted back to my ice cream. It quickly departed again. My ever-wandering thoughts and eyes kept drifting back to my doubles partner. Alright, this was getting annoying.

"Mom, can I be excused?" I blurted, standing up.

She nodded. "Put your plate in the sink, Kitten."

I headed to the kitchen door, and without even turning around, I knew what my friend was thinking. "Take your time,Oishi," I urged him nonchalantly. "Finish your ice cream without giving yourself a brain freeze, nya." I heard him set his spoon back in his dish with a "cling." He chuckled nervously as I closed the kitchen door behind me.

I knew I could use some time without Oishi in the proximity. I liked him; I couldn't help it. But it was a little scary when I couldn't focus my thoughts on anything else… Actually, the scary part was that my thoughts _were_ focused on something: namely, him.

I set my dish in the sink and stared out the window just above the faucet. The sun was setting. I leaned over the edge of the counter and watched some birds fly away.

_Well, enough of that._

I headed out the other door and up to my room. It was pretty odd seeing it so clean. For once, I knew where everything was. I observed a couple of photographs Oishi had dug up in my piles, framed, and set on my dresser, saying for each one, "You should put this where people can see it. It's a good picture. If you don't want it, I'll take it." I'd assured him that I wanted them all. Mostly, they were pictures of me and him I'd stuck in my tennis bag. There were ones from this year, eighth grade, seventh grade…

Ah, memories. The good, the bad, the strange… The first drawer of the dresser was filled with little mementos I couldn't let Oishi throw away. I opened it. Most of these things had odd sentimental value, I guess. No one really kept things like this…

I stopped. Something was missing. What about… Where was it?

I ruffled through the drawer. It had to be in here, right? I thought back. I hadn't seen it all day. But we'd been through everything… Did I lose it? Did one of my siblings take it? I'd kill 'em! Finally I just shook the drawer, hoping to hear the sound.

"Eiji, what are you doing?"

I looked up. It was Oishi, standing in my door. I shut the drawer and leaned against it, as if something might escape out of it and tell my secrets. "Nothing."

There was one of our rare, awkward pauses.

"Video games?" I grinned, feeling nervous.

"Vacuum first." Oishi plugged in the cleaning monster.

"Need help?"

"I got it." He immediately set to vacuuming. I read a tennis magazine on my bed. Yada, yada, articles, pictures, ads… Bo-ring. I stretched out for a second, yawned, and then folded my arms on top of the open magazine and laid my head there. I drifted. Soon I heard the vacuum turn off. Seconds later, I felt fingers scratching and rubbing my neck. "Mm…" Oh, yeah. That's the spot. I dangled my arms over the front of my bed and let my head drop onto the magazine with a distinct crinkling sound.

"Comfortable?" Oishi asked.

"Nya," I promptly replied, not moving. My voice was muffled.

My doubles partner had long since perfected the art of rubbing my neck without it tickling. I could have stayed there for hours, but I guess Oishi's fingers got tired and he stopped. "What happened to video games?" he asked.

"Nyo." That meant no.

"You sure?"

"Oh, alright." I lifted my face and slid halfway off the bed so I could reach the controllers and the system. I had to insert whatever racing game was lying around in the cabinet while balancing my upper body on one arm. Then I threw Oishi a controller and grabbed my own.

We played for hours. I whooped him thoroughly no matter what game we played. I wondered how he could sit through so many beatings and still be willing to play against me. It was like he was trying to outlast me. In the end, I was the one who got bored.

"We're done with that, nya." I dropped my controller on the floor. Oishi soon grabbed it and put both controllers back in the cabinet.

"What would you like to do now?" he asked me.

I thought for a moment. Wasn't that the question? What _I _wanted to do… What _did _I want to do?

I supposed we might as well stick with our usual routine. "I'll make popcorn." I jumped off the bed and walked downstairs.

After sticking the popcorn in the microwave, I headed over to the family room to look for a decent movie. I meant to grab "Spaceballs," but I don't think I was really paying attention when I grabbed, and I accidentally took whatever was next to it because I heard the microwave beep.

Once I got back upstairs, Oishi had already turned off the lights to enhance our movie-watching experience, or something. I closed the door behind me. My friend had also set up on my bed two of those weird-shaped, tri-panel pillows that one leans against to make it easier to sit. (Mom said they were called "boyfriend pillows"… Why the heck would anyone call them _that?_) In the dark, I placed the movie in the DVD player.

I quickly realized that it was the wrong movie. The title screen came up… "Somewhere in Time."

"Oops. Hang on; I grabbed the wrong movie." I started to get up to retrieve it and go downstairs to get the _right_ one, when Oishi grabbed my arm.

"No, let's watch this one. I watched it with my sister and my mom one time. It's really good."

I sat down, being sure to give my friend a good, hard, cynical look. Somehow, I got the feeling that instead of the words "really good," he'd meant to say "utterly captivating." I had no idea that any self-respecting guy could enjoy chick flicks as much as I now fully realized Oishi did. But I sat down and decided to humor him. And we watched "Somewhere in Time." (1)

It was so obviously a chick flick that I all but lost my appetite for popcorn. I pushed the bowl closer to Oishi, so there would be less popcorn to come back and haunt me if I had to hurl. It was difficult to focus at first. "Hey! That's the guy from 'Superman'!" I blurted loudly.

"Shh," Oishi corrected me gently, completely entranced by the screen. He was really enjoying this.

I sighed and leaned back into the pillow. Why, oh _why_ was I watching this? I tried to find whatever it was my best friend thought was so great…

The scary part was, I think I actually started to see it. I felt warm fuzzies… and angst…

About halfway through, Oishi touched my arm, which was currently hugging a small pillow. His whisper made me shiver. "Eiji, are you bored to death? We can watch something else."

"No, it's okay," I replied robotically. My eyes had somehow become glued to the screen. It was scary to be hooked. But I was.

I'd never watched anything really _romantic _before. I had seen movies with romance _in_ them, but it was always overshadowed by comedy or action or both. _This_ was just… _all_ mush, _all the time_.

We arrived at the scene where the lovers were finally alone. There was candlelight. She let her hair down, and everyone but me would have known what was coming. I squirmed a bit and looked around the room a little, wondering if Mom would really be comfortable with me watching this. I'd seen worse, but she'd always made a point of watching it with me, so she could protect the innocence of her little baby. It felt kind of weird watching it alone… I looked back at the screen. It didn't really show anything bad… There was a piano playing in the background, and it all seemed so much sweeter and gentler than I had imagined it would be…

More warm fuzzies manifested somewhere inside of me. But they were different warm fuzzies this time. My heart started to beat a little faster. I hoped Oishi couldn't hear it or sense it, like I think he sometimes does. I looked over at him. He was still staring at the screen, under its evil spell. The glow of the TV fell softly blue on him… I felt my face get hot as I looked away.

Before I knew it, the movie was over. The screen went black, and Oishi turned the lights back on.

He had a sort of smirk on his face. "Did you hate it?"

"Yes!" I threw the pillow down at the floor and stood up for my rant. "That movie sucked! He dies! What kind of an ending is that?"

My comrade seemed surprised. I was, too. Neither of us could believe I had cared that much.

We decided to get ready for bed. When I had changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth, I found myself alone in my room. A thought occurred to me. Oishi had long since stopped bringing a sleeping bag with him whenever he came to my house. First there was the whole thing where he liked to listen to my heartbeat every night, and then I got so used to it that I always begged him to provide extra warmth and hugging material. He _always_ slept in my bed when he stayed at my house. Now… I wasn't so sure I wanted him to.

I crawled into bed. And, sure enough, when Oishi came in, he shut the door, turned out the lights, and crawled in next to me. I mentally told my heart to shut up. What was wrong with me?

"Eiji, you know you're absolutely my favorite person in the world, right?"

That was an odd question. But not entirely unlike Oishi. Still, it was an obvious attack on him by the warm fuzzies.

"Huh? Yeah," I replied with a smile. I really did like it when he said things like that.

"Come here." He held out his arm a little bit. I shifted accordingly and snuggled into that spot where I fit so well. Feeling back to normal, I wrapped my arms around him like I always did, using him as a substitute teddy bear. I started to fall asleep.

Maybe I imagined it, but I think he gently kissed my hair.

It wasn't weird. We were too close for it to be weird. Well, maybe it was a _little_ weird… I didn't mind, though…

I felt the warm fuzzies surround me like little, glowing fireflies, and they silently hypnotized me until I drifted into sleep.

…

Of course, I was dreaming.

Oishi was there again, sitting in front of me. Oishi was always there. And the candlelight beckoned as it was reflected in his eyes. I pressed my cheek against his soft, sweet-smelling white shirt, and he held me. I heard a piano playing somewhere in the distance… Nothing happened; neither of us moved. Time had stopped.

When I woke up, I didn't really want to think about it. Especially while I was still in his arms. It didn't take Oishi long to wake up. I think he heard my heart beating.

"Eiji?" he mumbled.

I sat up and looked out the window. The sun was just rising. The light streamed golden through the window onto my bed. Onto us, the Golden Pair.

I tried to get my heart to stop beating so loudly.

"Is something wrong, Eiji?"

I couldn't look at him. I just couldn't. Not when his voice alone brought back the warm fuzzies… He propped himself up on one elbow so he could put his hand on my shoulder. I stopped breathing, as if holding my breath could keep him from reading my thoughts through his soft touch.

"Come on, Eiji. What's the matter?"

I let out my breath. "We shouldn't watch scary movies like that before bed, nya." Then I lowered myself back into the inviting arch of his arm. It was too early to be up anyway. I felt him smile at my half-sarcastic comment.

I fell asleep again to the slow, relaxing rhythm of Oishi stroking my hair.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

(1) I realize that "Spaceballs" and "Somewhere in Time" are both American movies (as is "Superman," mentioned later). Feel free to mentally replace the names with Japanese equivalents. Or just... bear with me...


	8. Lost

**Author's Note: **My sister/editor is back, and she liked the way I ended this story, so I'm going to post the rest of it today. Still Eiji's PoV at this point. R+R please. Enjoy!

* * *

Oishi left late that morning. After saying goodbye, I went back up to my room as always. As I bounced onto my bed, my eyes were drawn back to the neatly arranged photographs on my dresser. And I thought of the bell again.

I slowly walked over to the drawer. It had to be in there, right? I opened the drawer cautiously, trying not to look. If I looked and it wasn't there, I would know it was lost forever. I didn't want to know that; I didn't want to believe it. When the drawer was open, I forced myself to look.

Not there.

I sighed and closed the drawer again. This just sucked.

I looked around the room, my hand still resting on the drawer handle. Where else could it be? There was absolutely no place I could think of, even though I knew where everything went now.

Oishi hadn't seen it… he would have mentioned it…

At lunch that day, I could hardly eat. I was still suspicious of my siblings. My eyes searched across the table. Anyone here could have stolen it. Who was the culprit?

I decided not to bring it up. Then I changed my mind. It was that important to me.

"H-has anyone seen… a, um… a little bell?" I stuttered. My voice hushed to a mumble. "I lost it."

"A bell, Kitten?" Mom cocked her head.

"Yeah…" I forced myself to speak more confidently. "It's a little golden bell, and it's on a black ribbon. Has anyone seen it?"

"You mean, like something maybe a cat would wear?" one of my brothers asked.

"Yeah, sort of like that… But bigger," I answered, showing with my fingers how big it was.

"Well, why would you keep something like that?" my youngest sister remarked bitingly.

It was a valid question. I didn't answer. I was feeling uncomfortably warm all of a sudden. I couldn't look at any of my family. "Well, if no one's seen it…" I trailed off. My eyes were starting to sting. "Mom, may I be excused?"

I waited for only a "yes." I bolted into the kitchen, practically threw my plate into the sink, and sprinted upstairs. Once in my room, I dove onto my bed, grabbed a pillow, and let the tears run. I wasn't sobbing, just weeping silently.

Why _had _I kept that stupid bell?

I felt like such a fool. It shouldn't have been important to me. Was anything else in that drawer that important to me? I couldn't really say. I'd never lost any of it. Where was my bell? It couldn't have just disappeared…

Once again, I asked myself why I even had it. I tried to remember.

At the end of the seventh grade tennis season, we'd finished our last practice with the bell. I told Oishi to go on ahead to the locker room to change, saying I'd catch up. I was left with Captain Yamato.

"Captain?" I asked hesitantly, holding the bell in my hand.

"Yes, Kikumaru?"

"Can I give this back to you?"

"Of course." He held out his hand. I held the bell over it by the ribbon. I couldn't pry my eyes away.

After I don't know how long, I heard Yamato-senpai say, "Eiji, let it go."

I didn't move. I was staring at my reflection without really seeing it.

The Captain smiled at me and closed my hand around the bell. "You want to keep it, don't you?"

I looked up at him questioningly. "I don't know _why_ I'd want to keep it…"

He smiled again. "It's given you and Oishi something that most doubles teams will never have."

"What's that, Captain Yamato-senpai?"

"Find that out for yourself."

I hugged my pillow more tightly now. I still hadn't really figured it out, I mused. Maybe the answer was always changing. But something had started with that little bell.

After stuffing the bell in my tennis bag with the distinct new feeling that it was important, I had walked away from Captain Yamato to catch up with my friend. Oishi seemed a little down on our way home. I proceeded to glomp him, trying to keep his spirits up. I guessed that he was upset because he thought he'd never see the bell again. Maybe that's why it was so important to me: somehow, it was important to him. He always understood things like that better than I did.

I almost took out the bell right then, so I could show him that I'd kept it. But I decided not to. I decided I'd keep it safe for him, and someday, maybe I'd show it to him again. And when I did, I'd see the biggest smile ever on his face, and we would talk about it, and remember together. And of course we would laugh, because the memories were sweet, and the whole thing was rather amusing. And I would know that I'd made him happy.

I cried again, remembering that it was gone.

_Some plan that turned out to be, _I thought_. So much for safe-keeping._

I was so horrible! How come I had to lose things all the time? Now I burst into sobs. It was gone… Gone, gone, gone. And Oishi never even knew that I'd kept it. Maybe I could tell him…? No. Then I _knew_ I'd cry, and he would hold me and tell me it was alright. But it wasn't supposed to be about _me!_

Again, the voice of my sister came into my head. "Why would you keep something like that?" What if I decided to tell Oishi, and he asked me the same question? Maybe he had grown out of the idea. Maybe, looking back, he thought it was dumb. I imagined his voice in my head. "Eiji, why did you keep this?"

_I don't know why!_ I screamed in my head as I threw the pillow at the wall. I covered my ears, trying to shut out all imaginary sounds and voices. I really didn't know why; it made no sense. During the times we'd used it, it had meant my utter humiliation. I heard the voices of past upperclassmen in my head…

"Hey, freshman! Nice _jewelry_."

"Kikumaru has to wear a bell so we won't _lose_ him…"

"What _are_ you, a cat?"

"_Here_, kitty!"

Laughing, they left my thoughts.

Maybe it would be better if I never saw that little bell again.


	9. Lonely

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I've got more. Wheee! Oishi is... abnormally obsessed with that bell. It's so much fun... Anyways, R+R please. Enjoy!

* * *

Oishi's Point of View

* * *

Once I was at home in my room, I took the bell back out of my pocket. I felt sort of guilty again for taking it without asking. But there was no way Eiji even remembered it…

I noticed once again how dirty it was. I took it with me to the kitchen to look for some cleaning solution of some sort. I found that and some polish in one of the cabinets. Then I headed back to my room and set to work.

There was something about cleaning it so meticulously that made me feel very sentimental. It really was a pretty little thing. I found myself growing even more attached to it with every gentle circle of the little cloth I'd found.

_You've been through a lot, haven't you? _I asked the bell in my head. Naturally, it didn't answer. So I held it up and gave it a little ring. I couldn't help smiling. _Do you know what you do to me, little bell? _My reflection smiled back at me, and I got the distinct feeling that the bell replied smugly, _Yeah, I know._

I shook my head. What was I, schizophrenic? I was talking to a _bell_. I continued cleaning it without any further conversation. Once I was finished, I almost couldn't believe how shiny it was.

I set it down in my lap and let my eyes gaze around the room, trying to decide what to do. Nothing came to mind. In many ways, I suddenly wished that I hadn't left Eiji's house so early. After a few moments I decided I'd at least call him up.

"Hello?" One of his sisters answered giddily on the first ring.

"Hi. This is Oishi. Is Eiji there?"

"Oh… hi." Clearly she had been hoping it was someone else, maybe her boyfriend. "Yeah, I'll get him. Hang on."

There was a long pause, during which I tinkered with the bell. It looked brand new, and even the ring seemed somehow clearer. I loved that sound.

"Hoi! Oishi!" Eiji picked up the phone.

"Hey, Eiji."

"What's up?"

"Nothing really. How are you?"

"I'm okay… Not doing much. You?"

"Well, I'm feeling kind of lonely…" I suddenly felt a little embarrassed. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over, maybe. We could, I don't know, play tennis or something."

There was a short pause, after which Eiji replied, "You do know you just left my house, right?" I think he was enjoying mocking me.

"Yeah, well, you know I just can't stand to be away from you," I joked.

Eiji giggled. "Okay. Yeah, I'll come over… Oh, wait, hang on."

Even though I could tell he put his hand over the receiver, I could still hear what was going on in the background.

"Eiji, get off the phone!" I heard his sister yell.

"Do you mind? I'm talking!"

"I'm expecting a call, you little weasel!"

"Alright, alright…" Eiji turned his conversation back to me. "I've gotta go. I'll just come over. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few!"

"EIJI!" I heard his sister yell again.

"Bye, Oishi!" Then he hung up.

I hung up the phone. The bell was still in my hand, and suddenly I wondered if I should maybe tell Eiji that I had it. Why was there something in me that didn't want to tell him, that wanted to keep it all to myself?

It wasn't like I had anything to be ashamed of…

Even so, I hid the bell in a drawer.


	10. Home Again

**Author's Note: **Don't worry... we're almost there... it's almost over... I apologize for the length of this chapter. I had trouble ending it while I was writing it... anyways, reviews much appreciated. Enjoy!

* * *

Eiji's Point of View

* * *

Talking with Oishi and arranging another visit had made me forget about the little bell. Honestly, I didn't want to remember that I'd lost it. I just wanted to spend the rest of the day enjoying my best friend's company.

At the moment, I was more concerned about how long I would be staying. What if he asked me to stay the night? Shoot. I didn't bring any pajamas… Never mind. That wasn't a problem. He could always lend me something. I started going through all the possibilities in my head. What could I ask to borrow? Maybe that grey sweatshirt of his. I liked that thing; it was cozy. I remembered one time he'd lent it to me. It had been an unexpectedly cold day, early in fall. He'd caught me shivering and insisted that I wear his sweatshirt. That was so like him. Always worrying about—

I heard some church bells ringing in the distance and stopped dead in my tracks.

Shoot.

I sighed and hung my head, walking more slowly now. I'd been doing so well, too, not thinking about the lost bell. I'd actually forgotten that I'd been upset. But now that I remembered, of course, I couldn't _not_ be upset.

Oh, man. Now I had to face Oishi like this. There was no way he wouldn't notice.

Wait, I'd forgotten about it once; I could do it again. I tried really hard to think about other things…

It was no use. Nothing could get my mind off that little bell. I felt like it was ringing in my ears. I quickly covered them and shook my head. _No, no, no! Stop it!_

I came to his street, realizing that I must accept my fate. Doomed, I rang the doorbell, which Oishi promptly answered. I tried my best to smile. "Hey."

"Hey!" He smiled brightly. "Why don't you come in? We don't have to go play right away…"

"Oh, right," I stepped in, a bit flustered. Then I followed Oishi upstairs to his room.

Once inside, Oishi closed the door behind him and asked the dreaded question, "Eiji, is anything wrong? You seem a bit down."

"It's nothing," I lied as I set my stuff down.

"You sure?" his mouth said. What he really meant was, "Don't lie to me, Eiji…"

I sat on the front of his bed, slouching. It took me a while to say anything. I _really_ didn't want to tell him.

"It's stupid," I finally said. Trying to keep cool about it wasn't working, though. For the millionth time that day, I felt like I was going to cry.

"No, it's not." What an Oishi-like reply. "What's up?"

I covered my face. I didn't want him to see me cry. I just knew I was going to cry. Why was it so hard not to? "I lost something," I squeaked.

For a minute, Oishi didn't answer. In my mind, I imagined him mocking me. _We just cleaned your room, Eiji! _Even though I know he'd never do that.

"What did you lose, Eiji?"

I looked up at him now, knowing there were tears in my eyes. "The bell!" I cried. "The bell Captain Yamato gave me. Do you remember that thing? I kept it…" I rubbed my eyes, calming down a bit. But then I burst into sobs. "But it's _gone!"_

Oishi just stood there. I didn't look at him. I was still sobbing into my hands. I hated the silence. It just made me cry more. I tried to fill it, but it was hard to continue. "I know it was really stupid, Oishi, to keep that thing… I really don't know why I did… But I thought it meant something to you! So I kept it… And I was going to show you again someday, you know, that I had kept it… But I lost it! Why do I have to lose everything? I'm so stupid! I mean… why… why… Oishi?"

I looked up. He was no longer standing in front of me. I turned around. He was opening a drawer in his desk and pulling something out.

"What are you doing?" I sniffled.

He held up the thing he'd pulled out.

It was my bell.

I felt my eyes get wider. I couldn't connect the dots. "Oishi… how…?"

He walked back over to me, never breaking our eye contact, taking the bell tenderly into both hands so it wouldn't ring. I couldn't quite read his expression.

"I'm so sorry, Eiji," he began. "I took this when I found it in your closet yesterday… I didn't think you'd miss it." He chuckled softly, kind of unsure. "I really had no idea. I mean, it was mixed in with some old clothes of yours… "

"Yes, but _why _did you take it?" I grabbed his arm. _Get to the point!_

This was obviously harder for him to answer. He looked down at the bell in his hand. Then he looked back at me. He stared into my eyes for forever until answering.

His voice was really quiet. "This bell… is something really precious to me."

I felt like I couldn't move. That was what he said… But what was he really saying? There was something really deep in this moment, like an ocean maybe… I never did well with things like that. I felt like I was drowning. I couldn't breathe.

Oishi's face lightened a little, and he placed the bell in my hand. "Anyway," he smiled. "It's yours, and I shouldn't have taken it. Sorry…"

"No, it's…" I couldn't find the word. "Ours", maybe? I felt like Oishi wanted (maybe needed) this thing more than me. I probably should have told him he could keep it. All I said in the end was, "It's okay."

I didn't get up. Oishi didn't walk away. We both felt that we couldn't leave it at that.

Once again, Oishi was the one to brighten the mood. He put his hands in his pockets. "The last time you wore that thing was, what, a year and… nine months ago? It seems like longer…"

"Huh? Oh… no…" I looked up at him and grinned. I don't know if I was blushing or not, but I felt a little silly. "Actually, the last time I wore it… was only about a month ago…"

My friend cocked his head. "When?"

I chuckled. "Oh, nothing special. I just took it out to look at it, and I put it on, nya." I gave it a little ring. "It's fun to remember sometimes."

Oishi smiled and sat next to me. "Yeah," was all he said.

"I don't really know how it got in my closet," I continued. "Oh, wait… Yeah, I do. I was looking at myself in my closet mirror with it on, and then I heard one of my brothers opening the door. So I pulled it off really quick, stuffed it under some old clothes, and slammed the closet door shut. I couldn't let him laugh at me, nya."

We both laughed a little at that, both relieved that we'd found common ground in our memories after all. Neither of us thought it was ridiculous, like we'd both feared.

"Remember when Yamato-senpai first showed us this thing?" I remarked. "I'll never forget the dumbfounded, blank expression you had on your face, nya."

This made him laugh. "I'm surprised that's what you remember. You were really embarrassed when you had to wear it…"

"Oh, trust me. I remember _that_. How could I forget, nya?"

"Weren't the upperclassmen teasing you to no end?"

"Oh, yes." I blushed a little. "They showed me no mercy. Actually, that was only the first day… They didn't bother me after that."

"Oh, really? Why'd they stop?"

I laughed. "I think Tezuka shut them up."

Oishi found that really funny. We kept talking, for over an hour I think. And we laughed, and it was just how I wanted it to be. But eventually, we ran out of memories. Still, I got the feeling Oishi didn't want to go play tennis just yet.

I held up the bell and looked at it. It was super shiny. "You cleaned it, nya," I observed. Then I tossed it to Oishi and leaned against his shoulder, feeling a little sleepy from sudden boredom. "What now?"

He hesitated. I could tell he wanted to ask something, but didn't know how. He was staring at the bell in his hands.

"What is it?" I sat up.

A weird smile crept across his face. "Could you humor me?"

"Always have, nya." I grinned.

A self-conscious laugh followed from my friend. "You don't mind?"

"Nah. What is it?"

He dangled the bell in front of my face. "Could you… put it on?"

I blinked twice. It was an odd request. But I smiled. For nostalgia's sake. "Okay," I said. "But you have to tie it, nya." Then I turned around so he could do so.

I found myself curious to know what thoughts were going through Oishi's head as he tied the black ribbon around my neck. He didn't say a word. In retrospect, it was maybe a little creepy. But I refused to let it bother me.

When it was secure, Oishi gave my shoulders a little squeeze. I turned around to face him again, and the bell gave a happy little "ding!" It was home again.

We just stared at each other. There was something awkward about this moment… but beautiful. I felt the warm fuzzies return as I gazed into Oishi's turquoise eyes. Carefully, he slid the palms of his hands onto my cheeks and lost his fingertips in my hair. My heart started beating a little faster. Then he leaned in and gave me a long, gentle kiss on my forehead.

That time, it was weird.

When he pulled back, he looked into my eyes again. I blinked. Why did he do that? He looked like he had no clue himself.

After an uneasy pause, one word escaped from Oishi's mouth. "Tennis."

"First one to the courts gets to serve!" I took off running, glad for the chance.

He chased me the whole way there. I didn't let him catch up, but I didn't get too far ahead, either. I don't know what it was about him chasing me that I liked so much. But I knew I couldn't stand to be too far.

I won the little race, of course. When we got on the court, I turned and ran backwards, claiming victory as I tossed my tennis bag aside. I didn't see a tennis ball that someone had left on the court, and I stepped on it, causing me totter backwards and give a little yelp as I fell.

"Eiji!" Oishi called, running. He threw his things on the ground, dove underneath me, and caught me in his arms. It ended up so he was lying on the court, holding me, and I was sort of on top of him. "Gotcha," he sighed, relieved.

I was laughing. I got up halfway, keeping my hands on the ground near his shoulders. Giggling, I apologized. "Sorry, nya."

"Don't scare me like that." He smiled at me and propped himself up on both elbows. "You didn't twist your ankle, did you?"

"No." After a quick breath, I started to laugh again. Then I tackled him back down. "You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine," he laughed, wrapping his arms around me again.

I forced myself to pull away and stand up. "Tennis?"

Oishi followed suit. "Tennis."

I got my racket and some tennis balls and started walking to the other side of the court to serve.

"Are you going to play with that bell on?" Oishi asked, out of the blue.

I had forgotten I was still wearing it. But I grinned and gave it a little ring with my finger. "You still can't beat me, nya."

Well, it actually turned out that Oishi _did _beat me. He really could read me better when I was wearing the bell. But I had fun anyway. It certainly brought back the memories we'd brought up earlier, back in Oishi's room. I started to wonder why I hadn't kept practicing with the bell. It was kind of scary what a difference it made in Oishi's playing.

By the time we were on our way back to Oishi's house, it was dark. I didn't have the bell on anymore; I'd stuffed it in my pocket. One gets tired of the "ding, ding, ding" all the time.

I'll never remember what we talked about. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. We just liked talking. And listening to each other. It used to be that I only enjoyed talking, and Oishi mostly enjoyed listening. But now Oishi talked more, and I came to like listening, too.

We abruptly stopped talking when we got to the doorstep of Oishi's house. He turned his key in the lock of his door in silence. Before he opened it, he turned back to face me. "Would you like to stay over?"

I smiled. I knew he'd ask that. "Sure, I'll just have to call my parents really quick…" Why was his face so serious looking?

"Oh, no problem." He finally opened the door. "Do you need to use our phone?"

"Nah, I'll use my cell." I pushed past him to go upstairs. Oishi was so slow sometimes. He followed me into his room. I mentioned the fact that I needed to borrow pajamas.

"Oh, of course," he responded, gesturing towards his closet. "Pick out anything you want." As always.

"I need to take a shower," he said nonchalantly. Then he disappeared out the door.

I called my mom. The conversation lasted about two seconds. She never cared if I wasn't home, as long as I was at Oishi's house. It was basically my second home at this point.

After that was taken care of, I turned to my friend's closet and started searching. What looked cozy? I picked out some green, plaid pajama pants and started looking for that grey sweatshirt. I had trouble finding it.

Suddenly, my ears picked out a very foreign sound coming from the wall. Actually, I'd heard this sound before, but only once. I never thought I'd hear it again. _You're kidding, _I said to myself as I put my ear to the wall to make sure.

Oishi was singing.

I figured it was my duty as a nosy best friend to listen. I had nothing else to do anyway. So I sat by the wall and listened to Oishi sing. He didn't have a bad voice; it was really very nice, very rich-sounding. I half expected him to bust out into Italian. Well, maybe not. Never mind. In any case, I enjoyed the performance. He was singing about… What _was_ he singing about?

I tried harder to listen. It was hard to hear words through the wall. After a while, though, I'd heard enough to assume he was singing a love song. What else does one sing about, anyway? I closed my eyes.

The song abruptly stopped and the water turned off. Just as abruptly, I remembered that I should have been finding something to wear. I darted back to Oishi's closet and continued looking for that sweatshirt. It was probably somewhere obvious, and he would make fun of me for taking so long to find it, and then he would figure out that I really hadn't been looking that long…

"What are you looking for, Eiji?" he asked when he came in.

I turned around and discovered that Oishi was wearing the sweatshirt I'd been searching for. This was both a relief and a disappointment. "You're wearing it, nya." I smiled at him. "I'll look for something else…"

"Nah, you can wear this." Oishi promptly pulled it off and tossed it to me, leaving him in a white, sleeveless undershirt. "I always take it off before I go to sleep anyway."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, nya." I hugged the sweatshirt closer to me, wondering when he got to have such toned muscles. Before it got awkward, I left to go take my shower.

When I was done, I came back into the room to find Oishi sitting on his bed, staring at the bell again, which I had taken out of my pocket and set on his nightstand. He didn't look up when I entered.

I tapped him on the shoulder. "Oishi?"

He looked up. "Oh, sorry, Eiji." He offered the precious item to me, silently telling me to go ahead and take it back.

Instead, I held both hands up. "No, you keep it, Oishi. It's yours."

"Oh, no, Eiji, I couldn't—"

I leaned in close to his face and put a finger to his lips. With the other hand, I closed his fingers around my bell. "I was keeping it for you," I whispered.

Oishi blinked. I stood back again and put my hands in the front pocket of his sweatshirt. "Besides, I'd just lose it again, nya."

I got into his bed and pushed my way under his covers. Then I sort of started building myself a little nest with his sheets. Oishi walked around to the side to ask me what the heck I was doing. I poked my head out. "Nya?"

"Silly." This was practically his pet name for me. Randomly, he started tickling me under my chin with his fingers. What did he think I was, a cat? Yeah, pretty much. The warm fuzzies came back with a vengeance, but I really couldn't say I didn't like it. I found myself wishing he wouldn't stop.

When he did stop, he crawled in beside me. Reluctantly, I let him have some of his covers back. Then I pushed my way under his arm and got comfortable. As always, I wrapped my arms around his warm body. After my shower, I felt chilly, so it was nice to be kept so warm.

We breathed in perfect rhythm. It didn't take me long to fall asleep.


	11. Too Close for Comfort

**Author's Note: **The last chapter! PARTY! The ending is kind of weird... um, yeah. It seems kind of abrupt, I know... I just knew I had to end it there or it would end up turning into... something else... Anyway, I decided to leave the ending kind of up for interpretation.

Reviews loved and appreciated. Enjoy!

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Oishi's Point of View

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It didn't take Eiji long to fall asleep.

I stroked his cheek as he dreamed. I knew things had been slightly awkward between us that evening, and I knew it was mostly my fault. As I tried to look back, I really could find no clue as to what had happened. I only knew that the harder I tried to make things less awkward, the more awkward they became. I truly couldn't help it.

"Do you know what you do to me?" I whispered to my sleeping doubles partner. He responded with a soft, dreamy smile, and by snuggling a little closer.

Eiji was always like that. Utterly oblivious.

Unless he was just _trying_ to do this to me…

No. Not Eiji. Not _my_ Eiji…

I sighed, knowing I should try to sleep, and try harder not to think. I had done too much thinking that day; that's what had made everything awkward. Yes, sleep was a better plan.

As I slept, dreams came and went. All involved my best friend. Some were nice, some were beautiful, but others were disturbing. One in particular troubled my slumber. I was standing, and Eiji was kneeling in front of me. Everything was dark. I was holding his hand in mine, and I wouldn't let go. I felt cold. I heard the ring of Eiji's bell, and I suddenly realized that the black ribbon was choking him. He could not speak, but he begged me to let go of his hand and untie the bell. I didn't move. I didn't try to comfort him, or even say I was sorry. I just stood there, watching him suffer. Watching him die.

This dream woke me up. Needless to say, I was a little shaken. Such dark dreams weren't normal for me. I looked at Eiji, and was relieved to find that he was sleeping peacefully in my arms. But I think he could sense that I was awake. After about a minute, he opened his eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Shh… Go back to sleep, Eiji. It's two o'clock in the morning."

"Is something wrong, Oishi?"

"Just a dream, Eiji. Sleep now."

"Was it a bad dream?"

I couldn't lie to him. I ran my fingers lightly through his hair. "It was terrible, Eiji. You were hurting."

He yawned and closed his eyes again. "You're right. That's awful."

I couldn't help smiling. Eiji looked so sweet and cozy in my sweatshirt, sort of curled up… I suddenly wondered something.

"Eiji, do you dream of me?"

He opened his eyes again. Now I wondered why I'd asked such an odd question. But this time, Eiji didn't seem to think the moment was so awkward. He gave me a little squeeze. "Every night, nya."

He was back asleep in an instant. A strange happiness welled up inside of me. As I closed my eyes for a moment, I hoped that his dreams of me were happy ones. I hoped that I never hurt him in his dreams.

Eiji shifted slightly in my arms. I heard the sound of a bell in my head. It sent a shiver up my spine.

I turned to look at the object, which was sitting on my nightstand, reflecting moonlight. I felt cold again, and my dream came back to haunt me as I stared at the bell. A wind was coming from its direction, through the open window. Suddenly, I was scared. Even though I was freezing, I was starting to sweat. Eiji stirred again. I held him closer so he wouldn't move. I heard the bell again. He opened his eyes, and everything went blue. I was kissing him…

I woke up again. This time, I let go of Eiji and sat up, relieved to find that I had fallen asleep again, and it was only a dream. But I was still sweating. I looked over at the window. It was closed. I always kept it closed. I didn't look at the bell on my nightstand, afraid of what might happen, even though I knew nothing would.

Eiji, of course, woke up again. "Oishi?"

I didn't answer him.

"Oishi…" I felt his arms wrap themselves around my waist, and he pressed against my back. I quickly pried him off of me and turned to face him, still holding onto his wrists.

"Eiji, no. I can't…" I let go, not knowing how to explain.

"Shh, Oishi…" He rubbed my sweaty cheeks, trying to soothe me. "You're soaking wet," he whispered.

Then he kissed me on the cheek.

It was the first time he'd ever kissed me.

Then I knew.

I stared into my best friend's deep blue eyes and took a long breath. Then I got up and grabbed the bell. "Eiji, we won't need this again for a while." And I locked it in the top drawer of my desk, which was empty before I put it in.

Eiji didn't understand. I knew he wouldn't. Not for a while.

The bell, I now realized, had brought us closer. During the time that we had used it back in seventh grade, it had somehow caused our friendship to grow very rapidly. This helped us, at the time. Once it had disappeared, developing our relationship had been harder, and it took longer.

Something about having the bell in my hands again had made me want that quick pace back. But we were already so close… It was just too much. It would have made us maybe _too_ close.

I placed the key to the drawer in Eiji's hand. "Eiji," I said. "I want you to keep this for me. Don't give it back to me unless you think we need that bell again. But never until then."

He blinked, sensing that he wasn't supposed to know exactly what I meant. Obediently, he put the key in his bag, and crawled back into bed, back into my arms. We both fell asleep, and I had no more nightmares that night.

…

It's been a long time since I've seen that bell.

I'm standing here, looking at my doubles partner, trying to figure out what he's thinking. Things have been this way between us for quite some time now.

Things haven't been bad in any way… On the contrary, they've been wonderful. I know for certain that I have the best friend in the world, and I wouldn't trade our relationship for anything. I know I should be content. Right now, he's smiling at me. As always. I try to smile back, but it's an old smile. I miss the way Eiji always put a brand new smile on my face, every time I saw him. That just doesn't happen anymore.

I sigh and turn away. Maybe things are meant to stay this way.

"Oishi."

I turn around.

Eiji's holding the key.


End file.
